The present invention relates to casting reels for fishing having a device preventing breakage of the line in the case of an excessive tension. This device for preventing breakage of the line in the case of an excessive tension is generally called a spool brake, it causes the line to unwind from the spool where it is wound when the tension exceeds a predetermined value, which is less than the breakage strength of the line. The invention relates more particularly to such reels in which the brake is adjusted by the fisherman acting on a rotary knob, which knob rotates about an axis of the case of the reel.
A very widely used form of this type of reel generally comprises a spool fast with one end of a shaft the other end of which penetrates into the case and is connected for rotation therewith through a friction torque limiter, which is formed by a stack of washers alternately interlocked for rotation either with the shaft or with the case, this stack being pressed by a spring tensioned by a screw connected to the rotary setting knob. The rotation of the knob, communicated to the screw, causes said screw to move in translation with respect to the case, which translational movement modifies the tensioning of the spring thus permitting adjustment of the friction torque.
In present-day reels, the function of adjusting the brake is carried out in two main ways, by using the stiffness characteristics of the spring and the pitch of the thread of the screw of the adjustment knob: in a first possibility, the adjustment takes place over two or three turns of the knob, i.e. the total range of adjustment of the brake corresponds to a rotation of two to three complete revolutions of the knob; in a second possibility, the total adjustment range of the brake corresponds to a single revolution of the setting knob.
When the setting is obtained in a single revolution of the knob, the adjustment force can be readily set by setting the angular position of the knob with respect to the case. For example, peripheral graduations on the knob, coming opposite a fixed mark on the case, are sufficient to set the adjustment of the brake without ambiguity. Thus, a fisherman who wishes to put the brake out of adjustment and then come back to its previous set position may do so reliably since the previous set position was marked without ambiguity.
On the other hand, in reels in which the range of adjustment of the brake takes place over more than one turn of the knob, simple peripheral graduations of the knob facing a fixed mark on the case, are no longer sufficient to set with certainty the adjustment of the knob. In fact, the same peripheral portion of the knob may come opposite the fixed mark on the case for several different brake settings which are distinguished from each other by a whole number of turns of the knob. The setting thus becomes ambiguous and the fisherman is obliged to remember the number of turns he has made from the previous setting, so as to be able to come back to this setting by effecting the same number of turns, the peripheral graduation of the knob only allowing refinement of this setting.
Despite this drawback, formed by the ambiguity of setting, brakes are generally preferred in which the setting is obtained by several revolutions of the knob, providing a longer setting range and a smoother and more progressive increase of the friction torque, so as to obtain a fine setting desired by the majority of fishermen.
The object of the present invention is to provide a new reel structure offering both a wide setting range, i.e. setting obtained by a rotary knob through several revolutions, and position setting without ambiguity. Each braking setting, i.e. each angular position of the setting knob, corresponds to one and only one setting mark, the same setting mark corresponding to only one angular position of the knob.
Thus, the invention provides means for setting the angular position of the reel brake setting knob over an angular range greater than one turn.
The means used in the invention to obtain this unambiguous setting of the brake adjustment position are further particularly adapted to the usual reel structure, do not upset the habits of fishermen, comply with ergonomic requirements, do not cause troublesome overdimensioning of the rotary control knob, and do not disturb the usual functions of the reel.